This Monday I started school at Phoenix College where I am taking my general education courses. I am very impressed with the quality of education. Though, I do have my qualms with the school. I am not a fan of modern education in general. Children are more illiterate now than in any generation I am pretty sure. You can look it up. I think this has to do with the fact that we are giving children bad books and then telling them that they are reading good books. It is the reason I hated reading as a child. Reading was so dull for me.
I hated reading. I am now a very avid reader. I like to read good books though. Just because I like reading doesn't mean I can pick up any book and begin to read it contently. It has to be a substantial book. I was bored by Magic Tree House by the third book. Don't even get me started on Captain Underpants.
I like books that are genuinely interesting to read. The Bible is a book that takes you into another world almost. This is the same with any great book that I like. Many books nowadays have no real depth. My first favorite book was probably To Kill a Mockingbird. I read it in the seventh grade. But I could not get into the habit of reading and every book for the rest of middle school was also a dreadful read anyways. So, I used Sparknotes instead of actually reading the text.
In high school, that began to change. I began to read quality books but because, as it turns out, you can't fake reading in a liberal arts high school. Splendid! The first book I enjoyed was Willa Cather's My Antonia. This was superior reading. I enjoyed the description of Nebraska. I loved the words Willa used. Torpor. I loved the depth of the imagery. The plow in the sun. Antonia became real person in my brain and Jim was pathetic. There were judgements to be made about morality, personality and character! Nothing was off the table. I could tear into Jim Burden because he isn't real.
My teacher that year was a great person also. He was a stand-up man. He is a great role model or me. Great Roman Catholic who engaged with the culture in his own way. His favorite magazine was The Lamp Magazine. He listened to classical music, but also some more modern music his wife listened to. He was socially conservative, economically liberal. He attended Marian in Indiana. He has a wife and two kids. If he ever reads this blog (I doubt he will), he should be aware of how much of an impact he had on my faith and worldview. He told me to stop asking personal questions, but I couldn't help myself. I genuinely thought he was a good man. He had not stepped foot into a movie theater since 2016 I believe he said. He did not eat fast food and rode his bike into school every day. Very skinny mas as well. He gardened very often. Once, his kids had put blueberries in his shirt pocket without him noticing, so that during class he reached in and pulled out blueberries without expecting them. It was great.
Needless to say, I enjoyed my four years at this school. The other literature teachers were just as interesting, and I liked to hear them speak. This school, Phoenix College is a hit or miss. Occasionally an interesting teacher shows up. A teacher I thought was interesting was Mr. Don Richardson. The entire year he would speak about his faith. Particularly, he related to us that he was a practicing Roman Catholic growing up but that he left the Church later on in his life. Interesting. I wonder why. I think if I had the chance to interview him I would have so many questions. He never spoke too much about himself, only discussing grand ideas. It was after the class was over that I figured out, he had been a Roman Catholic seminarian! This made me question more. This guy was genuinely interesting. He wrote a book. I can't remember the name of it now, but he gave me a copy. It's sitting in my house somewhere.
Anyways, the school is decent. I openly state that I am a seminarian in all my classes just so people are aware. Most people genuinely do not care. Other times I am celebrated actually. I remember a particular teacher who would often make comments about the fact that I was going to be a priest someday. She found it very interesting. There wasn't a single time she mocked or ridiculed me. A few times in the past, a seminarian has reported hostility. But those are isolate incidents. Most people are just fine with it.
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